Not
long ago, I read an article about a woman who was forced to eat leather
to survive.While I
haven’t had to resort to melting down my prized vintage jacket or my
Saturday night boots, I have had to be resourceful with my cuisine.After all, graduate school teaches you much more than obscure
theories that no one else understands— it schools you in the fine art
of how to live on $9,000 per year.So, while I often fantasize about the cashier at the local
grocery store scanning my purchases and realizing that he’s in the
presence of a culinary goddess, I know the reality: when he sees the
ramen noodles rolling down the belt, he’ll chalk me up as an amateur.

But
what the cashier doesn’t know is that I’ve discovered a little
secret about ramen noodles!What
everyone knows is that ramen noodles are tasty, quick, and quite
possibly the cheapest food on Earth (.22 cents a packet!!!) Ramen
noodles also have a reputation for being the food of choice for broke
college freshmen who, away from Mommy for the first time and forced to
rely on the bathroom sink and a hot plate to nourish themselves, quickly
discover that instant noodle soup makes a perfect starving student meal.But what I know about ramen noodles is that they are an extremely
versatile and filling ingredient to hundreds of creatively cheap
and delicious meals.Here are some curly creations inspired by frugality.

just
like take out

This modified
version of chop suey is so quick that I have to put the ramen noodles on
first (they only take 2-3 minutes)!

ingredients

2
Tbsp. water

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 cup soy sauce (I use reduced sodium because the salt dosage can get
high)

Make
the sauce while the water for the noodles is boiling.Stir the broth, the soy sauce, the extra water, the cornstarch,
and the sugar together in a separate bowl.Put the veggies in a large frying pan and pour the sauce over.Boil the noodles.Heat
the veggies and sauce through until the sauce becomes thick.Once the noodles are cooked, add them to the stir-fry.Mix around so that the noodles are coated and pick up the flavor
of the sauce.Enjoy!